Review: Paranormalcy

352 Pages
Published in 2010
By Kiersten White

"He was right. I was tired. I had been alone my whole life. The foster homes, the Center - what was the difference? Why was I resisting him? I felt his hand on mine; he was so warm. The heat started to spread up my arm, slow and insistent. Why not give him my heart, my soul? No one else wanted them." (p.57)



SYNOPSIS:


Evie is an orphan who was adopted by the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) as a child after they realized that she is able to see through glamour. Evie can spot any paranormal being easily.


She is raised with half her time dedicated to average studies (math, english, etc.), and the other half being trained to bring in paranormals. Her missions are only to use her handy taser gun, Tasey, to shock the paranormal and attach an ankle tracker, giving them a certain amount of time to report into the Agency.


In her seclusion at the Agency, it is not surprising that her "ex-boyfriend" is a sly fey named Reth and her only connection to the outside world is through a popular teen drama on TV.


When a paranormal no one has ever heard of breaks into the Agency, Evie's world begins to turn upside down. Lend is a water- like paranormal that can shift into a exact copy of most beings. He may also hold the answers to the reason behind the recent killings of paranormals.


While getting to know Lend, Evie also must confront her insecurities about her identity and where she belongs.


Meanwhile, the number of paranormals dying are going up, Reth is becoming more and more dangerous, and Evie is no longer sure she can trust the only home she's ever known - the IPCA.

REVIEW:

I was a bit disappointed with this novel. It started off really well and had a good pace, but as I continued reading it seemed to drag a bit during some sections.


The characters are well developed, even the side characters, and we can get a good picture of what they may look like. I also enjoyed the world the author created, where vampires are only as hot as their glamours and we get interaction with a mermaid, a creature we don't see often.


However, I did not like the innocence of Evie's character. For some reason, she has lived her life in the IPCA and does not know much about paranormals, other than enough to complete her missions. She does not even know the difference between a Seelie and Unseelie fey! Her knowledge seems to extend to werewolves and vampires only.


I also did not like that Evie is only 16, and that when she was 14 she was involved in an borderline friendship/intimate relationship with an ancient fey. For some reason, it comes across slimier than most teenage girl and ancient fey relationships. She also gets attached to Lend easily - even planning on going to the same college as him.


At the end, I was not sure whether this is meant to be a series. The ending is a bit open- ended, so that we are not sure whether the reader is supposed to be left thinking about what may happen, or whether there will be further development in the plot.


We also do not see Evie establishing for herself a strong sense of identity. Apart from the choice she makes in the end, it seems like she merely trades the IPCA for Lend's home, and begins to plan her entire future with him.


Overall, this was an ok read. There were some highlights, and we do encounter new creatures. However, I did not love the main character and the pace was not maintained throughout the novel.

♥ ♥ = not too bad, not too great